


Brilliant, Nervous Glory

by Chancy_Lurking



Series: Brilliant, Nervous Glory Verse [1]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Dai-hachi-han | Team 8 (Naruto)-centric, Dating, Eventual Happy Ending, Firsts, Multi, Polyamory, Post-Chapter 700, Self-Doubt, Team Dynamics, Unrequited Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-05
Updated: 2015-08-27
Packaged: 2018-04-13 02:50:21
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 16,976
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4504815
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chancy_Lurking/pseuds/Chancy_Lurking
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The war is over, the truth is out, and Team 8 is doing the best they can to adjust.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> An experiment with cutting dialogue just because. I’d appreciate thoughts on how you felt it went! (Also, Neji survived because reasons.)

[They’re drunk and someone is crying.]

Hinata was saying something about Seconds.

They were laying in the darkness of the temporary barracks set up during the weeks after the fighting had ended. They were surrounded by hundreds of other shinobi, some drunkenly celebrating, many holding back tears, and most passed out from exhaustion.

Team 8 was some combination of all three.

No sooner had they walked into the place, had someone from the Sand Village pressed a bottle of something very strong into Kiba’s had, looking him in the eyes like Kiba was a close friend he was heartened to see again – then staggered away with the rest of his party. They hadn’t said anything at first, but then Kiba took a few swallows of it, grimacing, and holding the bottle out to Hinata, who flinched. She pointedly didn’t shoot straight liquor, usually, but Shino watched silently as she took a swig – she’d seen Naruto in a coma and missing an arm and hadn’t seen him since – and started to cough. He took the bottle from her as Kiba snorted and pounded on her back. Shino only took a sip before lying down on the end of the next three empty spots he saw. There really wasn’t much between his back and the ground but there was no imminent doom lingering in the room, so he didn’t think to complain much. And when Hinata tugged her mat closer to his and Kiba’s closer to hers, he didn’t complain at all.

But then, when the bottle was half empty and he was still to wired to sleep, Hinata started whispering.

She spoke like she didn’t want to disturb them, though she had to have known they were still awake. Especially when Kiba flinched when she started out with thanking him for being honest with her.

Shino sighed silently at that, his heart clenching in his chest, but neither of them interrupted her.

The first night off the battle field, Kiba had been so tense and uncomfortable, Hinata finally had to address him. They both saw it, the moment his composure cracked and he spun on her and she went still – like she could feel that he very nearly wanted to hurt her, but he _wouldn’t_. Akamaru whimpered by his side and then Kiba was shouting. He was shouting that he was _so damn proud_ of her because she was _so strong_ and so _brave_ , but he had never been more _pissed_ and _scared_ in his whole fucking _life_ than when she jumped into Naruto’s fight.

“ _Because now, I look at you and I can hardly breathe. Every time I blink, I see the person we love most in the world dying while we can’t do a damn thing about it!_ ”

And it’d taken everything in Shino to not grab Kiba by his throat for letting that “we” slip out.

It was a rule of Shino’s life, basically, to not share things too much, especially not things that made him vulnerable. His immense love for his fellow teammates, was one of those things.

Though he supposed all shinobi loved their teammates to some degree, he never tried to delude himself into thinking this was the same thing. He’d just looked up at Hinata one day after training, sweating like the rest of them, but with her head thrown back and eyes closed as she laughed and he _fell_. He didn’t remember what Kiba said but he remembered her _laughing_ and looking freer than she’d probably ever felt in her _life_ and thought it’s _Her._ She was the special one, the one that no matter who he met after, who _she_ met after, she would be the one that made him question whether peace was really actually worth the price of solitude.

He was ruined for anyone else.

There was a faint rush of jealousy then, in the realization that Kiba could make her laugh in a way Shino didn’t think he could even _comprehend_ , but then he was awash with a deep sense of gratitude. He would never truly hate anyone who made this woman smile the way she did that day, would never even get close to that feeling. Especially not when he looked past her and saw the reverence Shino felt displayed across Kiba’s face.

And maybe Shino’s face wasn’t as neutral as he thought it was, because when Kiba remembered he was there a second later, his eyes were wide and almost hurting. Shino wasn’t going to fight him or anyone for her attention – he’d fight _for_ her, destroy anyone who hurt her, but…

They looked away from each other, silent in their acknowledgement.

Hinata – in all her brilliant, nervous glory – was the love of their lives.

No sooner had they gotten out of Hinata’s range of sight after splitting up to go home, had Kiba kissed him, hard, like he’d wanted to punch him instead. Shino wasn’t nearly as surprised as he felt he should’ve been. For as long as he’d felt soft towards Kiba, he’d almost _waited_ for this – for the day Kiba’s emotional frankness would win over his common sense. Because really, everything should say that Shino would, well, not exactly _hurt_ Kiba for something like this, but that he would definitely not want it. But there he was, the fool, glasses pressing into his nose and fingers gripping Kiba’s hair like, just maybe, he wanted to punch Kiba, too.

When they finally separated, it was only by a hair’s breadth and then Kiba had dropped his head to Shino’s shoulder, “ _We are_ so _fucked_ …”

He’d been absolutely right. He was _absolutely_ right.

They were laying here now, after the world had ended and started again and they were still _fucked_.

She was saying that it wasn’t fair of her, wasn’t fair to _them_ because she didn’t want them to be Seconds. It took no time at all for them to piece together what she meant, because _of course_.

Of course, it was about Naruto. When wasn’t it?

She was saying something about being in love and friendships that were more than friendships and she was crying. She was in the middle of a sentence that had an “I don’t deserve” somewhere in it that made Shino’s skin crawl, but in the next second Kiba was kissing her and Shino had never been more grateful for his brashness.

The noise she made was distressed and half protesting, but though her hands gripped his shirt, she never pushed him away. He rolled over so he was properly on top of her, brow furrowed and hands clenched into fists beside her head. It wasn’t hard in the same way his kiss – _kisses_ , if they were honest – with Shino had been, but it was just as achingly desperate. He pulled away as if it pained him.

For once in his life, Kiba didn’t immediately run off at the mouth, just looking down into her shock-wide eyes with his brow furrowed. There was love right on the tip of is tongue, Shino could tell. There was more love and devotion than he had words for and it was frustrating him and Shino _understood_. He felt it too; for all the talk of him being a genius, he felt robbed of his words because “I love you” would never cover it. It was once Kiba sighed, that Hinata seemed to see that, too.

She drew in a sharp breath that she clearly meant to precede words, but whatever she had thought to say was lost in the next second. Covering her face with both her hands, there was a heavy pause between them until she started to sob. She was apologizing through her tears, though it was muffled by her fingers, they understood and it was _killing_ them.

Shino, who hardly ever wanted to touch anyone, wanted to touch her with such startling ferocity it nearly choked him. He slid closer to her, wrapping an arm around her stomach and pressing his face to the side of her neck. She jerked towards him, wrapping her arm around his head to cry into his hair as he breathed her in. He felt Kiba move as the man lowered himself, half on top of Hinata, his arm pressed soundly against Shino’s. His forehead wound up somewhere around Hinata’s temple, separating only briefly to let her reach around and hold onto his neck.

They stayed like that for a long while, until her sobs subsided into something quieter (though, Hinata had laughed, a bit hysterically, when Akamaru – never one to be excluded – laid whimpering on her legs). Shino made them move only because Hinata’s shoulders must’ve been paining her by that point, only her refusal to be away from them having made her stay still as long as she had. Adjusting carefully, he pulled until her face was pressed to his chest before reaching to pull Kiba snug against her back.

He felt Hinata look down when Kiba’s hand landed on Shino’s hip, but it seemed to relax her more than anything. The two men made eye contact over her head, their noses pressed into her hair as they finally drifted off.


	2. Chapter 2

[He loves her too much to lie to her, that counts for something.]

Naruto spoke to her, slowly and with infinite fondness, but she still cried a little.

The world was still wobbling after getting back on its feet, but nearly two months later saw Naruto awake and, even if he was still down one arm, well. He was smiling because even though Sasuke was gone, something had been bridged between them before he left. Team 7 was as close to put together as it could’ve been, all things considered, and Naruto was taking that for what it was. The village was finally starting to understand that it was moving towards a kind of peace that would not be easily, if ever, broken. The air of trauma was still sitting just around every corner, people were hurt and people were gone, but the lifted air of impending doom made life so much better.

And so he smiled for her, even as it faded from that bright, Naruto brand cheerfulness to something quiet and sorrowful after the initial pleasantries were over.

Because he loved her, he did. He looked at her then, the girl he’d ignored all these years – her cheeks still flushed but her eyes so much older and sadder, though still just as adoring. His chest hurt, because everything in him wanted to say that the love he felt for her was more than it was. She was so strong and so brave and beautiful and smart and she’d loved him in a way that no one else ever had and he _loathed_ to have to hurt her, wanted to spare her that pain… But that was not the kind of love a relationship should stand on. He didn’t know much, but he knew that. If he stayed with her, just because the truth would hurt her, this would all fall apart eventually. He knew that. So did she, really, but she let him say it anyway. Let herself hear it.

It hurt.

Hinata had known it would, but she didn’t try to fight it. He respected her, cared for her enough, to not lie to her just spare her feelings. She knew that was kinder than any other option, but still. It would be a while, a long while, before she could look at him and see more than the boy she’d pined over for years, but she’d do it. Because her feelings aside, he was a wonderful friend, her _hero_ , and she refused to lose him. So she would let it hurt until it faded into the rest of the nostalgic ache that was childhood. Though, in an odd way, she supposed this was better.

She supposed it was better that she could laugh when he frantically searched for tissues in his pockets, because he was still so very charming. And it was better that she could throw her arms around his neck without passing out, because he was so very dear to her. It was even better that as they were parting, he laughed when Hinata held out her fist to him like they always did this, bumping her knuckles happily.

Both their hearts were breaking, but they both smiled through their tears.

Even if she still cried as she walked away, she supposed this was better. There wasn’t any hope stealing her breathing upon seeing him anymore, she’d told her team when she sat with them later. She wasn’t waiting anymore.

So yes, her eyes were a little puffy and red, but she was sitting under Kiba’s kotatsu, lax and smiling. She was hurting but she was healing and that was enough for now.

Enough for them all to ignore the elephant in the room as Kiba flailed about, berating Naruto’s idiocy. For Hinata to try to defend his virtue against an onslaught of curses, even as she laughed embarrassedly at her friend’s theatrics. Shino watched them quietly as he always did, an almost smile on his lips. He was feeling warm in a way that only these people could do for him, even if he was still a little hurt, too.

Some part of Shino had _wanted_ Naruto to love her back. The part that was awestruck by her devotion to him, wanted her to be rewarded for that, to _finally_ get what she’d been after for so long. Because in spite of his feelings for her, he wanted – only ever and always – the best for her and if she said that was Naruto, he’d wanted her to have him. Wholeheartedly and undisputedly, laughing in his arms on their wedding day, happily ever after, so be it, _amen_. He’d wanted that for her and felt a shade of the disappointment she did. But then again…

He looked up when Hinata suddenly shrieked to see her dragging Kiba back by his shirt as he and Akamaru had set towards the door to “give that bastard a piece a my mind wait’ll we get ahold of him!”. She was still laughing, even as she tripped over Akamaru, sending the three of them crashing in a heap just short of taking out Shino. He looked down at them snickering and blaming each other and found himself smiling before he could do anything to stop it. Their cheeks were flushed brighter than they had been for quite some time and he felt warmed himself.

Because the bigger, more selfish, part of himself felt like the heartbreak she’d just experienced made him let out a breath he’d been holding for years.

He supposed, watching Hinata pushing up off Kiba’s back, giggling freely while Akamaru licked at where she was rubbing her forehead, maybe, they all felt that way.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning for mild sexual content.

[It wasn’t really unfaithful.]

They didn’t talk about it, though.

Even though there were significantly fewer missions, everyone finding themselves falling into the niches of a peaceful coexistence, they didn’t talk about.

It would never get so bad that they were avoiding each other, but occasionally there was an air of discontent between them that hadn’t been there before. Kiba was doing his best to not look at Hinata like he’d never forget the way her lips felt and Shino was doing his best to not look like he was dreaming about knowing. Hinata was very good at pretending not to notice the way they were calculating when to look away from her so they wouldn’t seem suspect. But for as thick as those feelings were, they were all very good at what they did, and they didn’t trip over themselves too much. Shino would not push the issue and Kiba was learning to bite his tongue, so they stayed quietly in the lines of acceptable behavior between friends.

Shino was also falling face first into denial as far as Kiba was concerned.

They were lying on Shino’s back porch one night, brooding, because two out of three actually _sucked_ but it was better than winging bad nights alone. Kiba had his legs lazily strewn over Shino’s (who was too comfortable to put in the effort to protest) and throwing a ball across the yard for Akamaru to chase.

Out of the blue, Shino had said that they weren’t waiting and made Kiba misthrow the ball directly into Akamaru’s face.

Among the things they didn’t talk about, the exact nature of Kiba and Shino’s relationship was one of them. There’d been quite a few times that Kiba had stumbled face first into kissing the other man since that first night all that time ago, but they never said anything about it, never stepped further than that. It seemed like whenever they tried, every time Kiba thought “ _fuck it_ , why not?” because they _wanted_ this, it was as clear as the desperation with which they kissed each other, they would suddenly both stop. There would be this cold feeling of guilt between them even though they hadn’t _done_ anything, but they knew what it was. Shino would walk away without a word, even as Kiba yelled at his back that they were being ridiculous.

Because, yeah, they were waiting; neither of them so bold or so cruel as to actively pursue Hinata, who was still figuring herself out. There wasn’t anything else they could call laying around in their mutual longing and occasionally kissing each other raw. The only reason they kept fumbling around when just the two of them being with one another was because it felt like running a three man job with only two people. Clearly they wanted each other, were past the point of avoiding that, but they wanted her, _too._ That was the rub between them. Their relationship damn near felt like _cheating_ sometimes. Even so, Shino insisted they weren’t waiting, they just weren’t… progressing.

It was stupid of him to say it out loud, though, because that made it sound defensive which it _was_ and Kiba was so over it.

He angled up just enough to see his friend and asked just what exactly, then, did they called themselves doing, sneering right back into the face of Shino’s glare. He was only glaring because he didn’t have a good answer anymore. He’d known he loved Kiba, too, even it wasn’t the same way he loved Hinata, for different reasons. He could look at him, right then, even with his teeth bared, and know that he wouldn’t know how to handle himself if he lost this man. Even if the feelings weren’t mutual, he wanted. He just- he fucking _wanted_ and he could have some of this but none of that so why bother but he still _hoped_ and didn’t know how to deal with any of it.

Shino looked away for just a moment, but that was enough for him to miss the way Kiba’s eyebrows shot up, just before he lunged forwards. Shino was halfway through blocking him, sitting up in alarm, when Kiba grabbed him by the wrist, pinning it to the floor. They were kissing before Shino could get a word in edgewise. And it was familiar only in that it was Kiba, because everything else was different. It wasn’t the hard kind of desperation that they usually kissed with; it was slow, deep with its longing and not two seconds into it, Shino forgot to breathe. Because he was used to manhandling Kiba, who was loud and bold and hit hard, even in kisses, so Shino would take it and _hit_ _back_ , but…

But now Kiba was kissing him like he might break if he pushed too hard, like he was something special and rare and Kiba knew exactly _how fucking lucky he was_ to be granted permission to have this, even if just in this moment. Kiba was kissing him like… like Shino imagined he would’ve kissed _Hinata_.

Somewhere between being slightly perturbed and deeply, _deeply_ moved, Shino broke away just to stare at the other man – trying to calculate what that meant, but far too stunned to piece it together. Kiba smirked a little, enough that Shino wanted to be annoyed, but his eyes were so loving he couldn’t focus on much else.

Releasing Shino’s wrist, he placed a hand on the man’s cheek, leaning down to whisper against his lips, “ _You. Are not. A stand-in.”_

There was no way that Shino – who felt things, but felt them quietly and internally – would cry at something like that, not in a million years. Because really, it was stupid that Kiba would ever think that Shino thought himself a stand in. He was nothing like Hinata; he didn’t look or speak or act like her, and just a wild guess, he probably didn’t kiss like she would either. There was no reason Shino would’ve thought that to begin with. That was stupidity on a level he didn’t trifle with.

So he couldn’t be sure why Kiba licked up his cheek like that or why his breathing got all erratic following that, but he didn’t intend to look into it too deeply. They were already kissing again and this time Kiba put a little more force of want behind it. Like he wanted Shino to know that he wanted him in ways that went further than lounging together or kissing or petting. Like that wasn’t already as obvious as Kiba slowly getting harder where he was rubbing his crotch against Shino’s.

And though Shino didn’t give himself a lot of time to think about things of this nature (hadn’t really thought about them at all until Kiba and Hinata grew into themselves), he’d be a liar if he said he hadn’t thought about this particular scenario in the shower on occasion. A dirty, filthy, rotten liar. His hips canted up reflexively and his head swam slightly when the movement made Kiba growl above him. It wasn’t until Kiba moved from Shino’s mouth to kiss across his jaw that he recalled, embarrassedly, that they were still _outside_. He was just about to suggest that they move somewhere less exposed, when Kiba bit down on his neck.

_That_ particular sensation was not one that Shino had had any previous experience with; the way his stomach fluttered, _aroused_ at the sting of Kiba’s teeth, confounded him. He made a choked off sound as he grabbed the back of Kiba’s head, fingers twisting into his hair. Encouraged, Kiba rutted down against him as he kissed his way up Shino’s neck.

Shino was just panting out some breathy version of Kiba’s name when the man froze, his mouth half closed on Shino’s ear. The moment Kiba pulled away suddenly to stare down at the side of his head, Shino realized that he must have noticed the kikaichu pore just behind his ear. He knew they weren’t out right then, moving leisurely beneath his skin as they normally did when he wasn’t paying attention to them, but he supposed it could be intimidating all the same. There could not be many people in the world who would look at a strange hole someone’s head, a hole they had witnessed _bugs_ crawling out of and think “huh, let me put my mouth on that”.

…But then again, there were not many Kibas in the world.

Though he at least had the sense of mind not to _suck_ on it, as soon as his tongue grazed the area surrounding it, Shino was instantly aware of two things:

Firstly, the stories some of the older Aburame might have told about the kikaichu making surprise appearances during their host’s intimate relations were just folk tales to scare them as kids – the bugs didn’t even flinch as his heart rate spiked.

Secondly, he wasn’t much of a stoic when somebody’s mouth was on his neck.

Arching up off the ground, Shino’s mouth fell open with a surprised grunt even as he tried to muffle the sound with his hand. Kiba chuckled and pried his hand away, pressing down with his body as he started to bite the skin gently. Shino panted out shakily, horribly aware of the dampness smearing inside his underwear with every roll of his hips. His nails caught in the netting of Kiba’s shirt as he raked his hand down the man’s back, marveling at the groans that got him. It took all the strength he could muster to pull Kiba off, flipping him onto his back, but no sooner had he started to demand they get in the house _right this second_ , was Akamaru leaping over his back with an excited bark. He blew through the back door and into the house before Kiba could even call out to him, but then the shinobi sniffed the air and went white as a sheet. The bug-nin could easily piece together what had made Akamaru so happy that would horrify Kiba.

_Hinata_.

The two men scrambled away from each other clumsily, Kiba unceremoniously trying to adjust his erection to something less visible while Shino opted to tug on his jacket upon realizing – much to his embarrassment – the front of his pants were damp. They were standing well away from each other by the time she reached the porch, but their greeting was too disjointed and intense for her not to notice something was up. Or if she didn’t at first, the deep pink slowly starting to redden on Shino’s neck certainly helped.

Her eyes went wide and she blushed almost as brightly as they did when her mouth formed a silent “o”.

…What were they doing?


	4. Chapter 4

[Commitment is inherent, but in what way, they aren’t yet sure.]

Even though it was the most awkward (and suspiciously sweatiest) conversation of their lives, Shino supposed it was only appropriate Hinata found out first.

That night they’d sat on the porch, cautiously neither touching nor looking directly at each other, and laid it all out. Hinata was still talking about Seconds and fairness, because of course she loved them, but she didn’t want this relationship to start “on a rebound” as Kiba so eloquently interrupted. Shino and Kiba were still feeling each other out – and _up_ though nobody said it – but wouldn’t deny or try to fight the direction their relationship was moving in, which was likely something intimate and exclusive.

But it was Shino who chimed in that their idea of exclusivity included Hinata – whether she was wholly platonic or eventually became romantic as well, she was a permanent fixture and they wanted her in whatever capacity she felt comfortable. Yes, they loved her very deeply, but their love was not a condition that rested upon the idea that she would eventually return their feelings. She was important and cherished and accepted, right then and there, as she was. If she told them she didn’t feel the same, then they’d get over themselves, one way or another, but it wouldn’t break them. They were more than just a team, they were _family_. They refused to let that change; they were all _strong_ enough to not let that change. They just needed to stop with all the secrecy and discomfort…

When Kiba had softly given his assent, looking to Shino gratefully, Hinata had stayed quiet her previously fidgeting hands going still on her knees. Eventually, she laughed softly to herself, noting that they were quite the odd family, weren’t they? When they chuckled she nervously, after several moments of waffling, sat her hands on top of theirs. She looked up at the sky and confessed that she didn’t know what the love she felt for them meant or how exactly to handle it, but that there was nothing that would ever scare her away from them, “her _pack_ ” she added smiling at Kiba (who smiled back so helplessly Shino’s chest clenched in sympathy).

Gripping their hands in hers, aside from the initial bit of shock and embarrassment she’d felt at the situation, she was glad to the depths of her heart that Kiba and Shino had each other like this. When they held her hands back just as tightly, she was glad that they had _her_ like this. Some part of her was still hurting for it, because after all the years of watching her pine after Naruto, how could she ask them to forget that and trust that she wasn’t _settling_? At the heart of it all, her permanence to them was not something she would ever dream of fighting. She’d be devoted to these men who’d helped her grow and grown with her, her _boys_ until her last breath.

She said something to that effect, her hands trembling slightly around theirs as she forced out all the words. Her greatest fear being that they would ever doubt how much she loved them compared to Naruto. She couldn’t stand for them to ever think that they meant less than him, that they were _Seconds_.

And in the back of his mind, Shino understood that this had less to do with them and more to do with her. Hinata was so much smarter and stronger and _braver_ than most people would think to give her credit for, but a guy could go blue in the face trying to convince her of that. Within the Hyuuga clan, she wasn’t ever treated as first choice. Years of playing second to Neji and her younger sister, in spite of all her best efforts, couldn’t have been easy, especially given how much she genuinely respected them. And her father being the Grand Archduke of Disappointmentville, the vast land of which he made Hinata the sole, encumbered inhabitant, had taught her that not being _first_ was basically the same as not being worth it at all.

It wasn’t like any of them could even begin to pretend that Naruto, in real life and her memory, wasn’t going to always hold a special place in her heart. But Shino had never even entertained the idea that he was competing with Naruto, not really. Sure, it would be easier from Naruto’s position – to finally be able to return her feelings after years of not noticing them, but then it wouldn’t be the same. They wouldn’t have treated each other the same way, nor would they have loved each other the same way. Kiba and Shino were close to her in a way Naruto never could be and it was in _that_ relationship that the two had fallen in love with her. He would never trade it for another one.

However, when he looked over at Kiba there was a moment that he wasn’t sure the man felt the same way. Maybe to a stranger he looked exasperated, but Shino saw the set in his jaw and the way he was fighting to keep his lip from curling – he was _fuming_. And frustration Shino would’ve understood, but he was already trying to think through diffusing a situation before he even understood what was happening. Before he could open his mouth to speak, Kiba met his gaze – even without the ability to see Shino’s eyes directly, whatever he read in his face made him put his head in his hands and laugh. Hinata startled and called his name but it just made him laugh harder; Shino was just starting to get alarmed when Kiba rubbed his face before letting his fist lightly fall on Hinata’s head. He looked a little older than either of his teammates were used to, the mirth in his face a little too sagely for his usual juvenile humor.

Shino breathed out a silent, affirmative laugh and Hinata’s eyes filled with tears when Kiba told her, quiet bluntly, he couldn’t give less of a shit about Naruto being her first or even the first of ten others if, at the end of it all, she decided he and Shino would be her last. If she didn’t, that was still _her_ choice to make.

They’d already made theirs.


	5. Chapter 5

[She’s glad then she’s not then she is again.]

There was a new sense of balance between them after that.

Kiba was doing his best to fluster his new boyfriend, much to Shino’s (enamored) annoyance and the amusement of their entire rank. Hinata aside, of course. Somewhere over the following weeks, Hinata seemed to have effectively become the number one cheerleader for their relationship. A shy, soft-spoken cheerleader, but an entirely loveable one. She was the one Kiba asked to help him get ready for his and Shino’s first proper date. (Meaning she got roped into helping him catch Shino a jar of fireflies in lieu of buying him flowers. The fireflies did _not_ have nice things to say about the two of them, but Shino was willing to embellish the story a little.)

As for Hinata, she found it a little surreal, the way they welcomed her in even as she carefully tried to stay on the edge of their relationship. She was still trying to come to grips with the fact that Kiba and Shino wouldn’t hold her love for Naruto against her. She knew what she felt for them was different than what she’d felt for Naruto, but she was also the only one who could ever understand that what she felt for Naruto was faded. An old photograph of something happy and honest that couldn’t be anymore. She knew it for certain the day Sasuke returned to the village and Naruto could hardly keep the tears out of his eyes long enough to rush into his arms.

She hadn’t meant to be there, hadn’t meant to see something that personal with so much potential to hurt her. She was just running an errand when she noticed Naruto wasn’t alone at the gates of the village that day. When she allowed herself to look back to the gates of the village, after giving into the initial politeness of turning away, she found a surprising lack of jealousy or even sadness. In fact, when Sasuke’s face softened from its usual impassiveness into something tender and reserved only for Naruto as he pressed their foreheads together, she felt moved to tears. There was an ache there, yes, but it wasn’t a sad one – she was genuinely happy for them, smiling softly behind her hands as she walked away.

And that made her genuinely happy for _herself_ , if also apprehensive.

Because that was the feeling she’d been waiting for.

Even though she’d let go of the idea of ever being with Naruto, she had to ask herself – and did quite regularly – if she would be able to accept the idea of him being unavailable. It was silly to wonder about, she thought, but then she thought some more and got worried – what if she wasn’t actually over Naruto? What if she finally saw him, moved on and with someone, and realized she would _never_ be over him? That was why, no matter how much it interested her or how much they invited her, she had never accepted Kiba and Shino’s offer to be romantically involved. It wouldn’t be fair to them for her to have to sort out her feelings for Naruto all over again in the middle of being with them. She never wanted to hurt them that way.

Now, however, she felt a lot less stunted and a lot more nervous. The biggest obstacle – admittedly, of her own creation – was no longer standing between Hinata and what she imagined would be a very happy, extremely loving relationship. But what would this look like to them? Her finally opening up to the idea after Naruto was – officially or not – completely unavailable? She knew that wasn’t the situation, but that’s what it would look like, wouldn’t it? She was working herself into a minor panic about the whole thing and Kiba and Shino could tell the second they saw her.

It took a bit of cajoling, but a few days later when they were walking to dinner– after they got wind of Naruto and Sasuke being reunited – they managed to get a quiet, stuttering version of what she’d been upset about. They were not “rebounds”, she was not _settling_ , but that is exactly what it would look like and they deserved better than to be made into fodder for the town rumor mill.

Kiba assured her that Naruto and Sasuke would occupy that spot for generations to come, but when she whined instead of laughing Shino poked her forehead. She looked up at him, flushed and guilty, and he calmly reminded her that they’d had this exact conversation before and everything they’d said still stood. They wanted her and if she decided she wanted them too, all she had to do was say so. Whatever anyone else had to say was irrelevant.

There was a protest just on the tip of her tongue, but it got sidetracked when Kiba tugged on her hair and promised to start a new rumor about someone else for every one she heard about them.

She regarded them quietly, her face fond and longsuffering, until she went pink suddenly, shrinking in on herself. Shino was trying to figure out what could be causing _that_ particular reaction when Hinata abruptly reached to hug them both around their necks, her face pressed between their cheeks. They had to crouch together slightly to grab her back, but they did, even in their confusion.

Her voice was determined when she confessed that she knew she moved slowly, but wanted them to know she was open to moving forward with them. Just… slowly, because that was how she handled anything when she wasn’t sure what she was doing. Even so, she knew that wasn’t who they were or how they operated. She didn’t expect them to wait for her, not _without_ each other. Because her relationship with the two of them would be important but each would be special for its own reasons. Shino and Kiba’s relationship with each other had to be special, too. Hinata would never want them to put breaks on that.

She promised that no matter how far they got without her, as long as she was still welcome with them she would catch up to them.

Even if the softness of the moment dissolved into a fond argument when Kiba commented that even a sweet little turtle would be welcome into the winners circle with the rabbits when she got to the finish line.


	6. Chapter 6

[The quiet wasn’t always a good kind of quiet.]

It should go without saying that nobody missed the war.

They’d all experienced the kind of terror, that of fighting demigods in the face of an apocalypse, that would last for the rest of their lives. They were at peace, collectively as a people, but individually some of them couldn’t find peace to save their lives. Sakura and the other medical shinobi were finding themselves trying to treat mental wounds more often than tending to patients’ physical recoveries.

The hush that fell on the village at night had started out as the quiet of exhaustion; everyone was too tired to do anything other than rest. But now that the dust had settled and adrenaline had faded, silence sometimes echoed with nightmares. Sometimes it was _too_ quiet to rest, even with the baby crying next door or the dogs barking around the corner or the kids sneaking out across rooftops, it was just so _still_. It was in stillness that many of the villagers had been taught to wait and listen – anticipate the next move, yours and the enemy’s. But now there was nothing to wait for, no adversaries rising from the darkness to attack, just more stillness and more sleepless nights. An anxious alertness that never gave way.

Team 8 were a part of the lucky few to have avoided any lingering physical injuries. Hinata hadn’t been back to the hospital since the initial checkup they’d all received once they got back to the village. Privacy was not a luxury they had time for, so they’d all seen _it_. The wound that by all accounts should’ve killed her, only to be hastily healed by the best medic in Konoha. Hinata kept her eyes on the far wall, full of tears and void of shame, as one doctor looked her over. Shino couldn’t look away even as his own wounds were prodded at, because it had been _so_ close. They’d been so close to never hearing her voice again, never seeing the way her eyes smile and the thought made him _sick_. Kiba had been sitting on her other side in that doctor’s office and Shino was sure he wasn’t breathing. Not until Hinata grabbed his hand, placing it over her scar, over her _heart_ , “ _I’m still here_ ” and he barked out a sound so close to a sob Shino had to shut his eyes.

The bumps and bruises had long since healed, the emergency wings of the hospital basically empty by now. Naruto had settled into his new arm at this point, even, and the scars on Hinata’s chest were only noticeable if you touched the skin. They were all so lucky and they knew; there wasn’t a day that went by that they weren’t grateful. Some days, however, they felt more grateful that others.

Today didn’t seem like it was going to be one of those days.

Today, Shino was picking a fight.

See the thing is, Shino hadn’t much thought about romantic love in any real context, not involving himself anyway. He didn’t have dreams of a wife and babies growing up; he dreamt of gardens and bugs and being held in high esteem. But the dream shifted to something he couldn’t quite grasp when he met two people he knew he would be with until the end of the line. He started to care about what that love could mean, even before he ever let either of them see it. Because he knew, there was this idea that an “I love you” and a kiss would fix everything that’d been out of place beforehand. That if you fell in love and didn’t hit the bottom alone, you’d have your dream life, happily ever after, so be it.

He knew enough to understand that wasn’t how the real world worked, not even for romantic optimists. He knew that going into a relationship, letting that love take hold, could make things worse just as much as it could make things better. Expecting everything to suddenly just _be_ better when in fact you have to put in the effort to _make_ it better could ruin everything.

Shino being a man of few words and Kiba a man of too many had to be careful. They knew that and they were trying. They were trying very hard to meet each other effort for effort, because they wanted this to work _so_ badly. It was already hard for Shino to imagine piecing his life back together in any happy fashion if this fell apart. He didn’t _need_ it exactly, but he sure as hell didn’t want to know what it was like without this – without Kiba _and_ Hinata.

But even for all that, love couldn’t save Shino from the week of nightmares that made him wake up in a foul mood. That made him cold and left him saying unkind things that had no real bite behind them, but made Kiba step back all the same. He was lashing out unfairly, he knew he was, but he didn’t know _why_. He hated not knowing why, because if he didn’t know _why_ he didn’t know what to do to make it _stop_.

Hinata thought she might know how, though.

She stood there, shock-still and concerned, watching the flurry of emotions play across Kiba’s face – like he couldn’t tell whether his anger or concern was more relevant. Shino wouldn’t even look at them.

Drawing in a sigh, Hinata’s urge to shake her head was smothered into a hardly noticeable quirk of the lips. They’d been here before, in this exact scenario, several times before. With somebody saying ugly words they didn’t mean because who else would stand and hear them without walking away if not their team. Only this time, Shino was standing on the other side of the equation.

It was usually Kiba who snapped at them with bared teeth and averted eyes, when the real feelings were too heavy or complicated for him to voice. Because he could almost always find words, even though they weren’t always the right ones. He could scream and shout one meaningless thing after another until Shino or Hinata drew out what he really needed. Over the years, they’d seen so many pieces of each other and stuck with each other through so many phases, that they’d learned how to handle themselves when nobody else could. The bad days weren’t as bad when you had someone willing to hug you or have ramen with you or play shogi in silence until the crickets came out. Some days, Kiba could only handle being around Akamaru, but sometimes he needed to dance a circle around Hinata in a club. But, occasionally, he’d needed a sharp _punch in the face._

They’d done it before, when there were different feelings involved and even less willingness to talk. Sometimes they wound up fighting in the training grounds until they couldn’t tell if they were laughing or crying anymore. Until they were too tired to do anything but lay together, apologizing between heaving breaths though maybe not in as many words as “I’m sorry”.

Hinata knew Shino, knew both of them, so she knew he’d never think to assume that role for himself. Shino who was stoic and collected and thought things through to solution, _always_ , would never think he was the one buzzing with that energy. The same violent energy that made them bruise each other and laugh about it as they hobbled to get food after.

Though she couldn’t say she _liked_ fighting, Hinata had to admit there was a certain beauty in the way the ferocity with which they fought eventually bled into harmony. They were always so _lax_ afterwards, lying around dizzy in their own private victory over something they couldn’t name. The time spent sitting around after, using their meagre knowledge of medical ninjutsu to heal one another’s sorest bumps, was just as important. It was healing, in a spiritual kind of way, for Hinata to know that these boys would fight her like she was worth it, but always care for her after. She thought they felt the same way, how they leaned into her hands when she healed them – eyes shut, the tension long gone from their shoulders.

The trust between them allowed them to fight like enemies, but it also let them curl into the gentleness offered without feeling ashamed. The things they said when punch drunk and loved, were safe and they were safe and this place was _Safe._

Hinata’s heart was aching, because it looked like Shino desperately needed to go somewhere _Safe_ , but wasn’t used to needing it this way, didn’t know how to get there.

Fidgeting nervously for a moment, because there was always the chance that she was _wrong,_ she started to consider her options. Then realized she had about five seconds until Shino just stormed off, so she decided to go for direct. (She was so very bad at direct, but _God_ , she loved Shino and would try for him). She took Kiba’s hand causing the two men to turn to her suddenly. Shino started to pull away when she grabbed him by the wrist, but she held fast, tugging him along behind her as they turned through the streets. Akamaru, who had been sitting at her feet on the verge of whining, happily jumped up to follow when she called his name.

It was going to be sundown shortly, so the training ground on the far north side of the village shouldn’t be occupied at this hour. She could feel Shino getting impatient with her, but she just hummed at his annoyed questions until they reached the empty clearing.

Dropping their hands and turning without a word, Hinata struck out with her palm, hitting Shino directly in the chest.

It wasn’t as hard as she could’ve, but they were long past the point of their lives where they pulled punches to any significant degree. They didn’t need to, so they didn’t bother with the insult.

Long story short, it wouldn’t kill him or anything but it still sent him flying away from her.

Long story shorter, it fucking _hurt_.

Wheezing, Shino rolled up onto his knees to find Kiba looking stunned and Hinata, in a fighting stance, slightly bothered but entirely unapologetic.

Shino lost himself for a second, the throbbing pain in his torso and the intensity in her eyes stealing all of his focus. He froze with the sudden calm that breezed through him with that. He knew how to handle this part.

There were no answers that needed to be found, no nightmares stealing his sleep, there was nothing else to think about right now except _this_. Fighting the people who would never take him further than he could run, but would run with him until their legs gave out. He knew what was happening and how to handle it, even if it’d started with the unusual circumstance of him being on his knees from the get go.

He drew in a breath when he saw Kiba’s shoulder dip like he was about to say something cocky now that he’d caught on to their reason for being here. Shino launched forward before he got the chance to open his mouth.

There was no talking to do right now.

It was a hard fight, but that was how it was supposed to be; raw knuckles instead of raw emotions, just for a little while. Forcing the pain out into something physical instead of trying to smother it. They weren’t using any extravagant jutsu for fear of drawing attention to themselves, but they were still hitting hard and paying for their slip-ups. They went at it for over an hour.

In the end, it was Kiba who called for a truce.

He was bleeding out of his nose, maybe his lip too by the look of it when he finally raised his hands. Hinata, who had excellent reflexes, stopped just short of landing a kick to his head. She was still huffing for breath – _sweating like the rest of them_ – as she lowered her leg, bending over on herself with a wordless sound of relief. Akamaru’s mouth on Shino’s arm went loose, licking the sore skin in apology when Shino acquiesced as well, calling his bugs away.

Kiba flopped onto the grass with all his usual melodrama, Akamaru bounding over to join him. Hinata rolled her eyes slightly, but nevertheless sat down beside him as she gathered her breath in the soft twilight.

Shino felt a deep kind of longing drag him to the ground as he approached them shakily. He went to sit on Kiba’s far side, but hadn’t gotten so much as past his legs when Hinata caught him by the end of his pants and Kiba tugged his arm and he just sagged to the ground between them. He started to protest, but then Kiba had his face pressed against Shino’s ribs, calming himself with his lover’s heartbeats.

He’d told Shino before, flushed and muttering, that he only did this when he felt that deep sense of security of Shino’s presence. When he felt so safe and at ease it made him want to just lay down and sleep, wrapped in his warmth. Touched beyond words, Shino had sworn to himself that he’d never pull Kiba away from those moments unless he absolutely had to. It made him hesitate to move even more than his aching body did. But then Hinata laid back beside him, pressing their shoulders together and taking his hand to toy gently with his fingers and his throat got too tight to form words properly anyway.

They lay like that in silence for a long while, listening to the cricket song and the sounds of a village preparing for the night. Kiba’s breath was deceptively even, but he was still not asleep and Hinata’s hand had gone motionless, but still warmly held his. He put his hand on Kiba’s mouth, healing minutely, doing the same for the bruises on Hinata’s palm. They both sighed out and his chest clenched as he whispered his thanks. He didn’t even retaliate when Kiba pinched his side reminding him he _could_ just ask next time he needed this.

When they were all reasonably healed up, but not yet inclined to move, Shino felt Hinata staring at him. He tried to prepare himself for the questions about what led to this, about what made him need this so badly. They deserved those answers, he felt, he deserved to give them those answers.

…He did not have those answers.

Saying it was just One of Those Days seemed so flaky, but he didn’t have anything else to contribute. He started to say just as much, but Hinata spoke over him.

Instead of asking about his abrupt downswing, she surprised him by asking about his glasses.

He remained silent for a moment, confused and trying to figure out what the two things have to do with each other, but then Kiba chimed in that he’d wondered too. They’ve all known each other for over ten years, and neither of them have a clue what Shino’s eyes or any clue as to why they didn’t. They weren’t asking him to take them off, exactly, just asking _why_ he wore them.

This was another distraction, Shino knew immediately. They’d probably wondered that for some time now, even if only absently, but there was no reason it should have specifically come up tonight. They were all tired and sore from something spawned by a completely different issue, but Kiba and Hinata were looking at him so expectantly. Like this was the only thing they were honestly wondering about right now.

They were trying to be clever about their kindness and Shino was willing to take an out when he was handed one.

The short answer was that it was originally just a tradition.

There was a lot of lore about the glasses even within the Aburame clan itself; the first felt shame and wanted to disguise himself or that near the end he’d turned his eyes into pores that were grotesque to look into. There was even rumor about eyes being the window to the soul – if they wouldn’t bare their bodies, why would they bare their souls? Whatever the case, the glasses stuck around with the near-full body coverings for as long as anyone remembered. It went on for so many generations of Aburame, let alone generations of kikaichu, that eventually bright light directly into the eyes disturbed the bugs.

Though of course before he told them any of that, he told them it was so his appearance would be as cool and mysterious as his personality was (at which they both at least graced him with a laugh).

But it was Kiba that rolled over onto his side, asking in faux innocence if the fact that he and Hinata were Shino’s “ _boyfriend and unofficial at the moment but most likely future girlfriend_ ” meant that they would get to see them first.

Sighing and rolling his eyes, though he knew they couldn’t see it Shino didn’t bother responding. He wasn’t ashamed of his eyes, definitely wasn’t _hiding_ them exactly. But it was odd to think of anyone seeing him without his glasses, considering he’d been wearing them since he was old enough to keep them on his face. It was fitting though, he supposed, not only that it’d be his team, but the loves of his life that would first (and probably only) to look him directly in his eyes. He’d bared so much to them, would bare so much more, this seemed to pale in comparison.

But still, in an odd moment of almost giddy insecurity, he drew them closer so they were leaning over him, closing him in. Kiba and Akumaru’s bulk shielding one side and Hinata’s hair falling down on the other. It was nearly dark and they were alone, but their hovering comforted him as just a small strip of twilight properly hit his face. He smirked slightly at the anticipation on their faces, before pulling his glasses off and letting his hand rest on his stomach.

His eyes weren’t particularly odd or special, he thought. They were the kind of dark brown that boarded on black and perhaps a bit narrower than his teammates’. He didn’t have long eyelashes to bat or any significant scars or crow’s feet, just… Just your average, ordinary, everyday eyes.

And yet Kiba and Hinata looked so _amazed_.

Part of that had to be shock, with what, over fifteen years of knowing a guy and this was your first time seeing his eyes, but there was still something more than that. Shino wasn’t much used to looking at his eyes either, honestly, but _amazing_ was still not how he would describe them. He hadn’t ever been looked at like that before.

Kiba gently ran his finger along the essentially permanent tan line on the sides of his face, making Shino shiver when his fingers brushed behind his ears. When Hinata breathed out “ _beautiful_ ” only to blush like she hadn’t really meant to, Shino found himself at a loss for words.

Never before had he felt any real desire to take his glasses off, but he thought the rapt looks of his teammates might encourage him to wear them a little less in the private darkness between them.

Though he had to admit, Hinata’s lips pressed to the corner of his eye were certainly a very good incentive as well.


	7. Chapter 7

[Girls, girls, girls.]

Shino had told Kiba he was being ridiculous at first; regardless of the fling he may or may not have had with Ino a few years back, she was _not_ out to get him. Nor was she out to get Shino who had “stolen” Kiba away from her. Shino’s interactions with Ino had been just as sparse as always and Kiba was being paranoid.

But then one day when he and Hinata were out for a walk and she was suddenly being dragged away from his side by a sneering Ino, he realized he may have jumped to a conclusion about that too soon.

Sakura looked apologetic enough, but Temari and Tenten looked entirely too amused that Ino indented to take Hinata away for their “Ladies Only, Pre-Valentine’s Day Spa Retreat”.

He’d never heard those words strung together so scathingly in his entire life and Hinata, as alarmed as she looked, probably had not either. She started to sputter some kind of response to that, but Sakura assured her that she intended to spend Valentine’s Day home, _alone_ and would sneak her away before Sunday actually rolled around.

That started Ino and Sakura to arguing, but the blonde’s grip on Hinata’s arm never faltered as they turned to walk away. Tenten’s wink did nothing to settle his nerves, but when Hinata turned back to promise she’d hang out with them on Saturday, flustered but not afraid, he was content enough to tell her to have fun. Even though that meant he had to listen to Kiba panic about what “mind-switching witchcraft” Ino was pulling on Hinata.

Nothing of the sort was happening, actually.

Hinata was a little more subdued that the other girls at the retreat, but she was happy enough to sit in the mineral bath and listen to them talk. Or gossip, rather. The word was gossip.

In all honesty, she didn’t mind it much; the ribs at Naruto and Sasuke weren’t any more vicious than normal (probably due to Sakura’s presence). When they asked for details on Shino and Kiba’s relationship, Sakura read the discomfort right off her face and reminded them that they were here to _not_ talk about couples. Sakura was actually very sweet to her the whole time. They sat with their shoulders touching and she let the other woman do most of the talking. When they turned to laugh at each other over something trivial, Hinata felt robbed by her own shyness – Sakura could’ve been a very good friend to her all along.

But they were here now, everyone smiling – with different degrees of scorn occasionally, but still – and having a good time.

It wasn’t until they were sitting around, slightly pink and in fuzzy robes, that Ino started on her. Hinata had felt her looking for a while and, though it was making her nervous, she’d kept her attention on not smudging her fresh powder blue nail polish on anything. The group had been very open and shameless the whole day, so she was prepared for some ribbing about being shy because she was hiding something or about her breasts or whether or not she _masturbated_ even.

What she had not been prepared for was Ino to stop mid-bitching about the lack of available guys and ask how Hinata had managed to lose the only three guys close to her.

Hinata’s breathing stopped as suddenly as Sakura’s hands stopped braiding her hair, snapping her friend’s name. Tenten said something about Ino being a bitch for no reason, but Ino just shrugged unapologetically, saying something about commiserating their loss.

Realistically, Hinata knew Ino had no idea how she felt. They weren’t close, the most words they’d ever said to each other had been said today, so there’s no way she could’ve guessed anything about Hinata’s feelings other than that of the generic jealous-almost-lover sort. Part of Hinata wanted to set that straight – she hadn’t lost anything, Naruto was never hers to lose. And really, he did love her, even if not romantically, a now that was something she could handle and wrap her arms around. She was happy with that, with this new thing she’d gained. It was better than the stark terror and blind hope of before, it wasn’t a _loss._ And more than that, she…

She blushed faintly. Kiba and Shino had placed something beautiful within her reach and she wasn’t trying to shy away from it anymore.

But Ino didn’t really need to know any of that, it wasn’t for her. Hinata would never be ashamed of whatever relationship she did or didn’t have with her teammates, but she wasn’t going to subject this new, precious thing she didn’t yet understand to the claws of a woman scorned. Frowning, she straightened her back – reminding herself that Ino had no real power over her – and looked absently down at her nails. She didn’t think it was all that funny when she stated Ino would probably know a lot more about losing men than she would, but she still had to fight down a pleased flush when the other girls exploded into laughter.

Ino’s fury was immediately evident, but before Hinata even had the time to properly register who she’d just made an enemy out of, there was a knock at the sliding screen door.

Tenten sat her sake down and opened the door to reveal one of the attendants of the spa. The woman smiled, handing over a box, a “special delivery for Lady Hyuuga” before bowing politely and ducking back out the door.

The attention in the room snapped to Hinata almost immediately, who was just as confused as they were. Stuttering her way through a million questions fired all at once to open the lid. As soon as it was off, the head of a stuffed bunny rabbit folded up out of the confines of the too small box.

A chorus of cooing erupted from the other girls except Ino who demanded to know who would send her something like this. Hinata was stuttering to tell them she had no idea as they all leaned over to try and get a better look. She stopped in the middle of her thought when she noticed the little emblem stitched into the patch just to the side of the plush’s tail – a little turtle.

It wasn’t like it was an uncommon story, that of the tortoise and the hare. It was highly possible that there was a little shop in Konoha, finding its place in a new world of peace making stuffed animals from fairy tales. But more likely than not, this was a product from the same old gift shop that’d always been outside the hospital, and had received it’s lovely tattoo curtesy of the tailors that had always been down the way. Both in shambles after the war, but there were babies that needed soothing and shops willing to do it. There were only two guys in the village that would think to send her something that specific on her impromptu day-cation.

Hinata was so stunned she didn’t notice the note in the bottom of the box until Ino snatched it out, reading it in annoyance:

“ _Until you get back! Have fun! Love you! - SK_ ”

Looking up sharply, Hinata was embarrassed to find herself tearing up, reflexively clutching the rabbit to her chest.

Though it was a thinly veiled code, she supposed they’d done it this way intentionally. The other girls could think through the names of everyone they knew with the initials ‘SK’ but it was unlikely they would ever stop to think it stood for _two_ people.

Nevertheless, her reaction to the note was a blatant tell that she knew _exactly_ who’d sent this message. Even as Sakura patted her shoulder as she tried to not get so worked up over something so silly, the girls were nudging her, asking who this mystery guy was. It was friendly goading, she could tell. Ino still looked bitter and like she was on the verge of genuinely _demanding_ to know who this ‘SK’ person was, but Tenten and Temari looked more affectionately teasing. Sakura’s voice was gentle, if deeply amused, when she said he must be very sweet on her, _lucky ducky_.

There were so many things floating around Hinata’s head then, mostly over gushing adoration for her teammates. She turned to Sakura, who was still laughing a little as she rubbed her shoulder, and wanted to spill her guts. She wanted to talk about what they made her feel and what she might want with them and how much joy it brought her to have the two most patient men in the world call themselves _hers_ as much as they called themselves each other’s. But she was a protective lover, fiercely so – had been even towards Naruto. Though she thought Sakura would be willing to listen to her hesitantly stumble through that conversation, she didn’t want to do it here. Not where Tenten and Temari (who were friendly but not gentle) and Ino (who was neither friendly nor gentle) would be able to hear. She knew it wouldn’t be secret forever, but until she had worked it out with Kiba and Shino, she had nothing else to say about it.

Besides, Hinata got a giddy bit of satisfaction out of telling Sakura she was right, she was very lucky. Only to remind her in the next breath that they were here to _not_ talk about boys, _theirs_ or otherwise, right?


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mild sexual content.

[Boys, boys, boys.]

They were walking away from the spa, shoulder to shoulder in the quiet darkness, when Shino asked if Kiba thought a stuffed rabbit was really going to be enough to undo Ino’s “witchcraft” on Hinata. He didn’t bother to squash his smile when he saw Kiba glare at him out of the corner of his eyes, immediately launching into a tirade about how if he hadn’t let her get kidnapped in the first place, they wouldn’t have witchcraft to _undo_ and so on a so such. Shino highly doubted Hinata would be quite as susceptible to Ino’s trash-talking as Kiba thought she would; even if the blonde _was_ a professional busy body. He hoped Hinata was having a good time, believed she would even if it was the nervous sort of fun that made her stutter as she smiled. But he would play along with Kiba’s paranoia, just for the sake of riling him up.

Perhaps it was the contrast of their personalities that made Shino feel at peace (so to speak), even in public, just by being in Kiba’s presence. He fit here, his quiet bemusement against Kiba’s irritated shouting. There was a sort of balance this way, familiarity that they would be hard-pressed to find anywhere else. Plus, it was very satisfying to Shino that by the time they got to Kiba’s house, the other man was flushed and bright eyed. A look Shino was starting to learn could mean ready to fight as often as it meant ready to kiss him breathless.

Though his train of thought was disrupted when Akamaru came bounding around the corner of the house, knocking Kiba to the ground. Shino petted him when, after thoroughly licking his owner’s face, Akamaru turned to snuffle his hand in greeting. Kiba started to yell at him about favoritism, but then some other dogs ran by and Akamaru was dashing off behind them.

Shino just hummed absently, watching as Akamaru followed the dogs over a short fence. They were off to cause trouble, he knew. Kiba told him they liked to harass the kids that snuck out at night, could smell the nervous deceit that hung around people pretending they belonged where they didn’t.

He started to ask what Kiba intended to do with the rest of _his_ night, but paused when he felt a tug at the end of his coat.

Looking down, at first he was only met with the top of Kiba’s head. The other man was looking at his shoes even as he kept his grip on Shino’s clothes. Any plans Shino might’ve thought to make were promptly disbanded when Kiba looked up at him, sheepish and flushed, with just one word:

_Stay._

They stared at each other for a moment, Shino trying to understand the insecure hunch in his lover’s shoulders. For all their bickering and teasing, they _were_ lovers and Shino never held that love over him. He wasn’t as openly affectionate as some, but surely Kiba wasn’t ashamed of asking him to stay the night…? Perhaps he was a little more worried about what Ino would poison Hinata with than he let on.

Because there _was_ talk about Kiba within their ranks, even when they were children. It had been nothing as viciously cruel as that faced by Naurto, but the boys _were_ pointedly similar. Different in so many important ways, but still – both hot-headed, chasing-pretty-girls and laughing-through-their-pain _softies with something to prove_. Kiba would punch someone in the mouth before he’d ever let them see him hurt, but he wasn’t immune to it all. He knew some of it was outright bullshit, but… But he still clung to the fact that his friends, his _teammates_ didn’t see him that way. He would be horrified if they started see him as the guy the rumors made him out to be.

Though Shino could only gather pieces of that from Kiba’s face, he could tell by the tone of his voice that there was a hesitant little “please” right on the verge of being voiced. Shino didn’t want to hear it, wouldn’t force it. He reached down, uncurling Kiba’s fingers to grasp his hand – without so much as looking around, because he was _not_ ashamed and rumors meant _nothing_.

Kiba stood the moment he pulled on his hand, facing him with grateful eyes. They went silently as Kiba lead him inside.

Unsure of what to expect once the door to the bedroom closed behind them, Shino went to Kiba slowly.

Some nights were hard and fast because it was fun that way, some nights only pretended to be until they were warm enough to fall asleep. Though he had the distinct feeling it was the latter tonight, he still pressed in close until Kiba’s back landed softly against the door. They kissed without words, slowly until Kiba’s arms pulled away from Shino’s waist.

Kiba removed Shino’s glasses, reverently setting them on the nightstand before pressing their foreheads together. He was too warm and oddly shaky and he was certain the only way to make it stop was to touch Shino. He sighed against Shino’s lips when the man’s hands slipped under his shirt to rub his sides. He moved back just long enough to let Shino pull his shirt off, returning the favor before burying his face in the man’s neck.

He went easily when Shino turned him until he hit his bed, Shino kissing him deeply as he laid back. The rest of their clothes came off in tugs and slides instead of hurried yanking, too occupied with touching any exposed skin _immediately_ than to get to more. When there were finally no clothes between them, they pressed together with a sigh of relief – everywhere they could reach rubbing and gliding against each other.

Shino felt a bit clumsy on top, his legs tangled in Kiba’s with the man’s arms around his back as they writhed together. He was still learning, still getting more sure of himself in this whole _Touching_ game but he wanted to get familiar. He wanted this to be as familiar as anything else with his lover. He enjoyed this, however they had it, but he wanted to be whatever Kiba needed right now. He pulled away from where he was mouthing at Kiba’s neck to gaze at him briefly and felt more assured by the blissed out look on his face. When the fog cleared from Kiba’s eyes for a moment, Shino ran his hand across his cheek, heart stuttering when Kiba leaned into it dreamily.

A wordless groan escaped Kiba and he turned further until he and Shino were on their sides, face to face. He felt like he wanted to climb inside his lover, just get lost in Shino’s warmth – a kind of ache he wasn’t used to having fulfilled. He was panting when Shino drew him in, pressing as close together as they could, not close enough but too close all the same. They rolled against each other, panting between kisses. A tangle of limbs and half muttered words, ending with Shino holding his breath as he came and Kiba muttering “ _yes, yes please_ ” against his lips as he followed.

Even after, Kiba couldn’t quite keep his hands off Shino, running them through his hair as they kissed drowsily. Shino whispered something about a shower, but Kiba had wet wipes in the side drawer, of course he did.

Giving an almost drunk sounding laugh at the absurdity of that, Shino took one when offered before folding back into Kiba’s arms. There was a different kind of contentment in the darkness with them that night. They breathed together, Kiba would even venture to bet their hearts _beat_ together, slower and slower until they fell asleep on each other without really meaning to.

And it was a good accident to wake up to; a very, very good one.


	9. Chapter 9

[Pretty and simple and sweet.]

They all dressed well, independently of any real agreement to.

At some point they’d had all been told, in some form or fashion, that anything worth doing, is worth dressing up for. So after Kiba and Shino went their separate ways that morning, they showered and put on what Kiba would describe as his “best clothes that weren’t so fancy as to seem phony”. He scoffed when Shino straightened his tie, reaching and dusting some imaginary dirt off the man’s shoulder. They were both nervous, both bearing a flower, but they were also thrilled beyond words.

It’d hadn’t actually taken much cajoling to convince Hinata that she was more than welcome to go out with them _on_ Valentine’s Day as opposed to the day before. Saturday night when she’d come back from the retreat with the other girls, arm in arm with Sakura and smiling brightly, Kiba had been sitting at Ichiraku’s with Naruto – the two giving each other a hard time about their stoic new boyfriends (who really were actually big softies, but who asked you?).

Naruto spotted them immediately and his whole face lit up out of the scowl he’d been directing at Kiba. When Kiba turned, any suspicion he might’ve had about Ino harassing or corrupting Hinata fled when she grinned at him, the stuffed animal they’d gotten her sticking out of her bag. Her arms were around his neck before he even properly said hello, making him laugh as he held her up. He didn’t even have to get into it with Naruto when he asked why he didn’t get any of that, Sakura knocking him upside the head.

Instead, he took the opportunity to flick the rabbit’s ear with a smirk, “ _he better be taking you somewhere nice tomorrow_.” He and Shino had been trying to think of a way to ask Hinata out with them without sounding pushy, but Kiba was hasty and that was as good a way to raise the question as any.

Her laugh was embarrassed but pleased as she shook her head fondly, assenting that she wasn’t sure.

It wasn’t until after a round of rapid fire questions from Naruto (that Hinata ended by promising to give him a name and address if he broke her heart), that Kiba finally found himself alone with her. She stopped him just short of puppy dog eyes about going out with them for Valentine’s Day – she would love to.

And yet, there was still a fair amount of shock on their faces when she actually met up with them.

She looked so… _happy_.

Her skirt bounced around her knees as she practically jogged towards them, a pleased flush on her cheeks and two little drawstring bags in her hand. She looked like she very nearly intended to bow at them when she got close enough, but Kiba didn’t give her the chance, drawing her into a hug.

Goodness, she even _smelled_ pretty.

Shino, for the dual purpose of flattering Hinata and annoying Kiba, took her by the hand and kissed her knuckles as he handed her his rose, “ _you look lovely._ ” Her grin was spectacular as she blushed and curtseyed for him, even as Kiba rolled his eyes at their theatrics. And they said _he_ was the silly one.

He focused again when she extended one of the little pouches she was carrying towards him. He could tell she was chewing the inside of her lip nervously, the shine of her lip gloss distracting him for a moment. He took it from her, passing her the rose he had been carrying. She smiled, placing it under her nose as Shino did the same. She said they were just a little thank you, a reminder – same as the bunny they bought her (who now had the name Momo and a permanent residence on Hinata’s bed).

Of course they gave the obligatory speech about how this was unnecessary, that the plush had been a gift without strings, but they were still pleased before they even opened the bags. It wasn’t like they hadn’t exchanged gifts before, but it hadn’t been in the same context. Exchanging gifts as almost, sort of, pretty much lovers before their first official date as a pod.

Kiba, ever eager, tugged open his bag first, dumping it end up into his hand. Shino opted to reach in to remove his gift, staring at it with his heart swelling in his chest.

A little, palm sized figurine each.

Shino’s of a rabbit (with crooked little black glasses) sitting beside a turtle in the grass.

Kiba’s of a rabbit (with drippy red lines on its cheeks) leapfrogging over a turtle’s back.

She scratched her cheek, looking mildly embarrassed as she hastily explained that she knew it wasn’t much and she tried to customize it with nail polish and she knows it’s not the best but-…

Her words dribbled to a stop when Shino pressed a kiss right in the center of her forehead.

Again with this touching without thought thing, but it was too late and felt too honest and right so he went with it. He looked just as stunned as she did when she looked up at him, touching the place where his lips had been. Kiba elbowed him gently, even as he laughed that he felt the same.

Grabbing the ends of her skirt, she swished it back and forth happily under their praises. Kiba promised to give it a spot of honor beside his bed and Shino was torn between carrying it around and putting it on his desk at the academy. She laughed when Kiba ruffled her hair even though she shoved him away, forcing them to start actually moving towards the restaurant. Happily holding her flowers under her chin, she fell into step between them.

_Kogane No Supūn*_ aka The Fanciest Restaurant in The Land of Fire was by way of virtue, also the one they’d never gone inside. Even Hinata, for all the Hyuuga Clan’s taste for regality, could only remember one occasion in which it was even mentioned, and she was much too young to remember any specifics. Approaching the front of the restaurant, Kiba was starting to feel a little underdressed.

A man stood off to the side of the open gates, leading to a stairway, in a full tuxedo. They bowed respectfully to each other as he motioned them in, turning his eyes vacantly back to the other people passing on the streets. The landing at the top of the stairs doubled as a waiting area; small, but very elegant. A draped metal chandelier, its chains reaching out to the corners of the room lit the space. It was all dark wood and silver inlay with tall potted plants partially obscuring the view from outside. The maître d’ looked them over as they sat in the overstuffed high back chairs, all a bit too stiff and whispering softly to each other.

Kiba was feeling distinctly out of place, so much so that even Shino’s hand on his knee and Hinata murmuring they were guests here didn’t really help. He felt slightly cornered when the maître d’ finally came over, sizing them up before visibly shrugging. He asked them where they would like to be seated and Hinata gracefully asked to sit on the balcony “ _if that wouldn’t cause too much trouble_ ”. She even smothered the tic that crossed her face when he responded to her as _Lady Hyuuga_ , motioning them to follow him into the dining room.

There were already a little over a dozen couples seated at various tables, though none of them Shino recognized as acquaintances. If they got any odd looks, the three of them in a sea of pairs, he ignored them in favor of watching Kiba’s hand indecisively twitch between reaching for Hinata’s and diving into his pocket.

The decision was made for him when they finally reached the end of the dining room, one harried waitress swung open the balcony doors for them.

Hinata paused, her eyes going wide as she looked around. The wrought iron railing and dark brick walls were covered in climbing hydrangea, which swayed in the light breeze that made the candles flicker on the table. She tilted her head up to take in the strings of fairy lights crisscrossing the area, casting a whimsical glow on the table settings. And on Hinata herself.

Shino felt his heart tug in his chest at the glow in her face as she turned about, a small smile pulling across her lips. Honestly, just from this he thought the date had been worth it. To see her looking so beautiful and so amazed even if just on a scenic overlook of Konoha, he never wanted to forget this. When she turned to beam at them, he felt Kiba shift towards him, like a man losing his footing. He very nearly grabbed hold of him to steady _himself._

The maître d’ clearing his throat gently startled him, though – the slightly suspicious smile on his face making them all blush. They were seated and given menus and very soon left on their own with three glasses of water and three of wine. The talking started out a little awkward at first, to be honest. This wasn’t an oddity by any means, the three of them being out to dinner together. But it was in a different context now and none of them could figure out if that was something that needed to be addressed. Eventually, they fell into an easy conversation – the view, if this was the fanciest salad they’d ever eaten, what they were going to order, what Hinata had done at the spa, etcetera and so on.

By the time the waitress returned to take their orders, they were all smiling at each other, feeling more grounded with their ankles wrapped together underneath the table. The menu had been a dizzying display of things with extravagant names and delicious descriptions. They all picked something different in the hopes of being able to taste each other’s food, as it was unlikely they’d eat here again anytime soon.

That was made very clear by the time their mildly expensive, extravagantly named orders came out.

The plates were _tiny_.

Artistic and beautiful, yes, with swirls and flourishes and garnishes – very appetizing… So appetizing, in fact, that Kiba asked if they were indeed appetizers. He hastily took the opportunity to back out of that comment when the waiter asked politely if they had ordered appetizers; _oh yeah, we’d decided not to, my mistake, thanks_.

By the time the waiter had placed all their meals down before them, bowing respectfully before turning away, Hinata and Kiba were shaking in an attempt to contain their laughter. Hinata quietly choking back giggles, wiping tears from her eyes with her knuckle. Even Shino had to shake his head as he picked up his chopsticks, making everything worse by commenting he could probably pick it all up in one go. Kiba nearly spat out his wine and they all had to take a breather before they could properly start eating.

It was probably a good thing that the jokes and laughter made them eat so slowly that they actually got to _taste_ the food before it was gone. But they did still offer to share a bite – a small one! – off each of their meals, commentating with laughs and impressive cooking terms they pretended to know the meaning of. Shino tried not to let himself get too flustered when Kiba smirked, noticing him staring at the shine of Hinata’s lip gloss when he fed her.

Kiba had been a little worried about their presence in a fancy restaurant. For all the nice clothes they could put on, for however well-behaved they might be at the moment, he couldn’t help but worry they’d get sneered at because, at the heart of it all, this wasn’t them. They were friends becoming lovers, but not from across white linen table cloths and nice wine. They were a team of shinobi, they’d loved each other through blood and mud and sweat and tears.

But regardless of his initial worries, he found himself relaxing in spite of himself. He glanced through the glass doors into the main dining hall a few times (he and Shino were facing it because Hinata didn’t need to look to see) and noticed exactly nobody watching them. He also noted that they looked quite like a number of the other patrons – flushed both with wine and happiness, leaning close across the table to share food and soft words. Some of these people had to be ninja, too; it’d be silly to think otherwise with an as many shinobi as there were in the world. Unique though they were, Team 8 looked like anybody else out on a date – pleased as punch and completely absorbed in themselves. So Kiba let himself just _be_ with them, and found himself caring less and less about what the rest of the patrons were doing when he could listen to Shino’s not-quite-laughter laughter at Hinata’s Ino impression.

They finished their meals fairly quickly, politely declining the offer of a complicated flaming-tart type dessert, and heading back out into the street. Far from ready to be done with each other, Kiba was about to suggest a walk in the park when his half empty stomach audibly announced itself. He blushed as Hinata laughed, Shino giving him the face that clearly indicated an eye roll. Before he could properly defend himself, Shino had them both by the hands – something that pleased Kiba to the depths of his soul – and was leading them to the more bustling part of town. Hinata started to grin when the smell of fried street food and overly sweet pastries grew stronger.

After splitting up to jump in line and grab whatever smelled the best, they carried their second dinner to a bench just overlooking the countryside outside the village.

Kiba was already halfway through a red bean bun and Hinata’s shoulders had relaxed into something only they ever had the privilege of seeing. Shino sighed, leaning back beside her, stealing a piece of her spiral potato. Their laughter wasn’t as stifled and the food was less than half the price but twice as filling. They sat close together, their legs touching as they bickered and pilfered food from one another.

It was a busy night, but the noise seemed to fade to the background under the sounds of their own amusement. Shino was nowhere near drunk, but the wine had already made him warm and the beer he was nursing certainly contributed as well. He was the blissful kind of tipsy that made him watch Kiba and Hinata with a clenched chest. They were grinning at each other as Kiba held his plate of funnel cake out of her reach.

Help him, they were so beautiful together and they were here with him and he with them and just…

They looked at him when he chuckled, looping the arm that wasn’t holding his beer around Hinata’s shoulders to rub Kiba’s neck. The two of them blushed to the roots of their hair when he called them cute, laying his head on Hinata’s shoulder. Kiba brought the plate close enough to Hinata that she could tear off a piece and shove it in Shino’s mouth. He took the hint quietly when Hinata then sat a hand on his knee, but also made a note to verbally admire them more often, until they didn’t act so surprised anymore (and if that meant his whole life, then so be it).

When the crowds started to wind down and the chill in the air was starting to get more cool than pleasant, they all hesitated to say they should turn in. The food was long gone, the only thing holding them – aside from the admittedly lovely view – was their desire to stay together a bit longer. Kiba’s hand had found its way around Shino’s, the two men leaning into Hinata’s space as they all talked quietly. It was Hinata that eventually said they couldn’t just sit here all night, laughing when Kiba commented petulantly they absolutely could.

Eventually, she stood out from between them pulling them to their feet. They got a few looks when Kiba tumbled into them, wrapping his arms around their shoulders as they walked off. He was so happy tonight had gone well; clumsiness aside, they had always loved each other and this gave him hope they could be _in love_ with each other, too. He pressed a kiss into Shino’s temple before resting his head on top of Hinata’s.

_“This is gonna be great!”_

Swaying in and out of each other’s space as they walked to the intersection most centrally between their houses, they stopped, still huddled close and grinning at each other. Kiba didn’t even get the chance to have to figure out how they were going to part ways – hugs, handshakes, fond nods?? – because Hinata spoke up before he got the chance.

She asked, quite plainly, if she could kiss them goodnight.

_…She_ asked **_if_** she _could_ **kiss** _them_ goodnight.

Standing there, looking like the definition of beauty had a child with the picture of perfect, she asked if she could kiss the two bumbling fools that stared at her like she’d grown a third eye.

They stumbled over themselves to say sure, yeah, yes, _of fucking course._

Shino couldn’t get over how endearing her embarrassed laugh was, as she covered her mouth and giggled at them. Her eyes were bright and happy as she tucked her hair nervously behind her ear and stepped up close to him. She fumbled a bit about what to do with her hands, before finally just clasping them together against her skirt. He leaned down when she stood up on her toes to fleetingly press her lips to his before sliding over to do the same to Kiba.

It was a cotton candy kiss; soft and sweet and gone nearly in the same moment it happened. It left Shino’s chest aching and Kiba blushing like it had been his very first. She tasted like powdered sugar and strawberry slushy and everything about this felt like something out of a cheesy romance novel, topped off by Shino’s heart about to melt right out of his chest.

Then she had to go and thank them – _thank_ _them!_ – with a blush and a bow and everything, she was so darling it was _heartbreaking_. The two boys hardly got out an “ _anytime_ ” before she was backing up with a wave, turning and heading back towards her own house.

Kiba shook his head clear and opened his mouth to ask if Shino wanted to walk home with him, but instead wound up laughing out loud when Shino had to take a knee and bury his blushed face in his hands.

“ _She’s just too cute!_ ”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *It’s literally the google translate for “Golden Spoon”; not a real place to the best of my knowledge, but if it is, consider it disclaimed.


	10. Chapter 10

[She wanted to be taught.]

In spite of the ambivalence that arose when he talked about her, Kiba actually _did_ remember his brief fling with Ino. They’d been drunk, but not _that_ drunk, and she’d been vocally willing and pointedly _wet_ so they let happen what their bodies wanted. She was just another girl on the fairly short list of people willing to overlook the ways their personalities didn’t mesh romantically for just _one_ night and have some fun. As long as they didn’t have to _talk_ to each other for any extended amount of time, they actually got along pretty well.

So yeah, truth be told, Kiba had _experience_ or whatever. He’d fumbled his way into manhood with a village girl years ago, even once hitting home with a guy he met at their graduation party – both of whom got over him a little quicker than he liked to think about. But regardless, he’d felt his way through the wobbling hormonal throws of puberty with both hands and his lips, too, sometimes.

For some reason it’d never occurred to Kiba that he was the only one.

Part of it was just him actively not thinking about it. He should’ve known about Hinata, he felt; she’d been hooked on the same guy for years, it was unlikely she ever even thought of anyone else. Their first kiss was out of more than a little fear, but still, it was drenched in heart stopping love. The rest of their lives hadn’t even been on the radar. In that moment he hadn’t been thinking about anything else but the pain in her voice and wanting to make it _stop_. Kiba hadn’t known what it would mean between them, but known it was too honest to take back, especially once she clung to him. But _Shino_!

Kiba hadn’t had a _clue_ he’d taught Shino how to kiss, without the other man even letting on to it. Sure, Shino had mentioned that he never thought about _sex_ before he thought about it in the context of Kiba and Hinata (and that had been jarring enough), but Kiba had never thought that meant _kissing_ too. The idea that their first kiss, that first bruising kiss all that time ago, had _truly been Shino’s first kiss_ was… unreal _._ He’d been _both_ of their first kisses and he _hadn’t even known it_.

They seemed amused about how embarrassed he was, blushed down his neck and covering his face. Shino’s first kiss never should’ve been so _angry_ , that was _heartbreaking_ – he deserved better than what Kiba had _taken_ from him. He let Shino pull his hands away from where he’d fisted them in his own hair, though he startled when Shino pressed their lips together. He could see Hinata’s amused smile out of the corner of his eye when Shino attested that he’d enjoyed the first one, and also the ones following, perfectly well. Even if he had to question Kiba’s perceptive abilities if he truly didn’t notice that Shino had no idea how to kiss in the first place.

Kiba was in the middle of pouting when he felt Hinata’s hand on his knee. His heart thudded in his chest when she bit her lip, looking down shyly even as she leaned towards him. He went hot all over at the words “ _will you teach me?_ ” She was talking about kissing, she was _just talking about kissing_ but Kiba suddenly lost himself in the idea of everything Hinata had yet to learn about-…

She made a startled noise when he picked her up abruptly hoisting her over himself to land in Shino’s lap. There was an immediate confused pause; six pairs of hands suddenly braced to keep everyone properly balanced and Kiba blushing bright red. The silence was broken by Shino noting, amused, that Kiba sure was breathing a little hard which Kiba couldn’t even think of a retort to at first. Hinata looked a little chastised, like she had made some horrible offence, but upon taking in the wanting look in Kiba’s eyes, she just blushed, awed.

Kiba leapt into a hasty and embarrassed apology about how he didn’t mean to react like that or for his body to react like that he didn’t want anything like that, like _sex_ not right now anyway it was just that she was stupidly attractive but he’s not a _pervert_ or anything so he’s not going to do anything she doesn’t want he just-…

Her soft laughter cut him off as she brought her hand up to touch his face. His skin was burning under her finger tips, almost welcoming in its heat. She slid her hand so she was cupping his cheek against her palm. Apology accepted and dismissed out of hand; she may have been a virgin, but she had a general idea of how _boners_ worked.

That startled a real laugh out of Shino which was rare enough in and of itself that Kiba’s head was spinning. He was pretty sure that was the intended effect when Shino suggested Kiba tell her what to do to him. Hinata was agreeing before Kiba could even yell at him for that one – he was turned on enough as it was, he didn’t need this.

…But he’d do it though, hell yeah he would.

The way Hinata leaned into it when he put a hand on her side gave him the confidence to scooch closer to them. Being close enough to whisper against Hinata’s ear when her lips finally pressed to Shino’s made his heart thud. Most of what he was saying she really would’ve figured out on her own, given the opportunity, but there was something nice about this. Hearing these things said aloud by someone she trusted was as comforting as it was enticing. Kiba couldn’t help but feel the same, going hot all over at the fact that she was kissing like he would, _like he was telling her to._ He told her how to work her lips and when to tilt her head; he told her when and how to use her teeth, when to suck Shino’s lip into her mouth. When he saw the first pink flash of her tongue brushing against Shino’s, he stumbled over his words, choked by his own want. He sat, watching them with heated awe as Shino opened his mouth to her, then his brain switched off. He didn’t even think – a reoccurring personality trait, to be sure– before surging forward, adding his own lips to the equation.

Shino jumped a bit when he felt Kiba’s lips crashing into the side of his mouth, but couldn’t properly formulate a response to the sudden attack on his face. Kiba was kissing feverishly, like he couldn’t decide whose lips he wanted a piece of more to save his life. Though, Shino had to admit kissing two people at once, while wholly impractical, was still very entertaining.

Even when Hinata started to giggle against their lips because she and Kiba silently agreed to coordinate an all-out kissing attack on Shino’s face.

Even when if their impromptu make out session devolved into a small wrestling match, which ended with the three of them laughing breathlessly on the floor.

_Especially_ when he realized, this very well could be a big part of his life from now on. Especially then.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There are going to be a few other stand-alone parts of this series in the future, but thank you for reading this far! I hope you enjoyed and I’d love to know what you thought!


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